Apple Hacks

Six ways to get creative with apples

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If you came to this article looking for ways to trick out your iPhone, you may be disappointed. If instead you joined us to hear about the craftiest ways to embrace apple season, well, you’ve come to the right place.

Below you’ll find a cornucopia of creative, delicious, weird, and awesome ways to transform an apple. So buy a bushel of your favorite variety and join the fun.

Make it into dessert. Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a sharp paring knife, hollow out the core of an apple (or a dozen!), leaving a half inch or so of flesh at the bottom. Fill the cavity with Red Hots. Place in a baking pan and bake for 30 minutes, until apple is tender and Red Hots have melted.

Make it into breakfast. Put 6 pounds of apples (peeled, cored, and sliced), ½ cup brown sugar, ½ cup white sugar, 1 tablespoon of cinnamon, and a dash of salt into a slow cooker. Cook on low for 8–10 hours, stirring occasionally. Mix a spoonful or two of the resulting apple butter into a cup of Greek yogurt—breakfast!

Make it into a healthy snack. Slice apples very thinly on a mandoline. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Cook in a 200°F oven for 1 hour. Flip slices and bake for another hour. When cool, seal apple chips in an airproof container to keep crisp.

Make it into a doll. Peel an apple. Carve eyes, a nose, a mouth, and cheeks. Insert a thin dowel into the bottom. Soak your apple head in a mixture of 1 cup lemon juice and 2 tablespoons sugar for an hour. Drain and store in a dry place for two weeks, or until your apple head has wrinkles. Craft hair, a body, and clothes for your scary new apple doll!

Make it into a contest. Give everyone who is playing a paring knife and an apple. Use the paring knife to try to peel all the skin off of the apple. The person with the longest unbroken piece of peel wins.

Let it light your way. Float a bunch of apples in a bucket of water. Some will float stem up; others will float bottom up. Choose the ones that float stem up. Twist out the stem and use a small spoon to scoop out enough flesh from the top of the apple to slide a votive candle in. Light the candles and float in a decorative basin for a nice centerpiece.

Miriam Wolf is the editor of The FruitGuys Magazine newsletter. She believes that an apple a day keeps weight gain away.